Witness in the ER
by MontegoBabe
Summary: I didn't know which was worst--the shutdown or the breakdown.


_A/N: I strongly reccommend that you listen to What if You-Josh Radin then From Where You Are-Lifehouse to really feel the impact of this little short. I know I'm behind on my other story I just got a little stuck. Hopefully you'll bear with me and just go with it. _

_Montego Babe_

I had seen them both before many times…

I had been at the hospital all my life it seemed but lived miles away and the first time I saw Joseph Morelli I was in my mid-thirties. He was brought in by his cousin since his leg had been broken. I took his x-ray and helped the doctor with the cast. All the while his cousin laughing and snorting out what sounded like 'Buick' and 'a girl'. He, however, was not amused. He yelled and screamed, angry beyond belief. A mouth of sailor on that one.

The second time I saw Joseph was years later and I was hitting my late fifties. He brought in a young woman who I knew by name only was Stephanie Plum. Her eyes were frantic and both me and the young man had to hold her still while I wrapped her hands. His face was almost as expressive as hers. She wanted to jump off the table and she was talking much too fast about guns and basements, and about Rangers and rabbits. As they left he wrapped her in his arms to calm her down.

The third time I saw him he was brought in by the young lady, who by the look of it wanted to laugh. Him, on the other hand, he was cursing up a storm. While I x-rayed his leg and had the necessary forms filled out I watched as his arms went flying about at the same speed as his mouth. When the cast was placed on his arms stopped moving long enough to balance on his crutches but his mouth kept going on about 'crazy grandmas' and 'job qualifications'. She held her laughter in while he continued his rant all the way out the door. Though he was hoping along quite angry while she was having trouble laughing and walking and laughing at the same time I had to smile at the young couple.

The fourth time I saw him he was bringing in Stephanie. I had been on my lunch break but had been able to see the couple in the waiting room. She was bruised and battered. Her clothes torn and her eyes red from tears. I wondered what had happened this time. By the time I finished my lunch they had already gone but I heard the other nurses talking about a gang beating and my heart went out to them.

While Joseph was in and out of the hospital I first saw Ricardo (as stated on his medical forms) in my late fifties right before Joseph brought Stephanie in for her hands. He was walking stiffly, favoring one leg. It was when I read the paperwork I learned he had been grazed by a bullet. He was silent the whole time I washed and bandaged the wound, barely nodding his head when I asked a question. During the last wrap of the bandage a tall black guy blocked the exit of the door scaring me in my old age, but the two seemed to know each other. There was a nod and a casual comment of 'flesh wound' before he stood to the side of the door, seemingly on guard. He walked out of the hospital room with a blank expression and roving eyes.

The second time I saw him, well, technically the second, third and fourth time he was checking on his men whom I later discovered were his employees. There were two of them, one was the big tall black guy who had broken his leg it seemed. Ricardo talked to him for a few minutes remaining impassive the entire time and letting out one word answers as much as possible. His voice no louder than a low hum. It was when I heard the name 'Stephanie' from the big guy that he smiled. After crutches were given he left, only to return when another received a concussion. When he came back out he was grinning. It was alter that I saw another one of his men but this time Stephanie came in and I watched as Gail brought her back to see him (I admonished her for that later). When Stephanie came out a few minutes later I was helping a new mother and father into the car and I watched her disappear into a black sports car—a dark hand entwined with hers.

The fifth time he came in, it was chaos. There was blood everywhere and it was a rush to stabilize him. There were men in black everywhere keeping watch, asking questions, and a little girl who wouldn't leave the room no matter what the doctors or us nurses tried to do. A stubborn daughter. 

Once he was stabilized I went to the waiting room and gathered the filed paperwork. Stephanie was there with Joseph. She looked hollow, her eyes so wide with fear it made my heart ache. Joseph made soothing circles on her back but I think it was more to calm himself down than her. The room was filled with his employees and when the doctor informed them he'd be okay a cheer made the room vibrate. 'You can see him for a little bit,' he told them, 'who first?' It amazed me when they all turned to Stephanie.

It wasn't long after that I saw him once again. I had Stephanie fill out some forms for some sutures on her knee. She had fell and with her life I didn't bother to question her. He kept quiet but his gaze never left her and his hand on the small of her back seemed to clam her. He smiled when she blushed and full out grinned shaking his head when she pulled a tastykake out of her purse. Throughout the whole visit I noticed she did all the talking while the only responses that came from him was either a single word, a raised eyebrow or a barely there nod. He was quite an odd young man.

…But seeing them now was different.

Stephanie was in critical condition. I saw the stretcher she was brought in on and I had been in the room when they started to operate. I had been in the room when paddles were used to try to get her heart to start back up. I had been in the room when the monitor went flat. I had been in the room when the doctor declared her dead.

They were both in the waiting room surrounded by a sea of black, Trenton officers, a flash of color and her family. I stood by along with two other nurses prepared with a sedative just in case. The doctor took his cap off and stepped close to the family. He shook his head to the side. 'I'm sorry.' Mrs. Plum fell to the floor and Mr. Plum sank down with her. Her sister held her family tighter and her sobs were the catalyst the rest of the room needed.

Joseph sat down, his face blank. Some of the officers shook their heads, wiped their tears, all moving in some form or another, but Joseph, he didn't move. His eyes remained stable and his posture stiff. A whispered apology to her family and then nothing. Complete silence. No curses, no questions, no tears, just pure steel control. If I hadn't known he was real I would have though he was statue. He had completely shutdown.

Then another bout of chaos ensued and I was paralyzed. Screams of anguish and hopeful demands pierced the room. Ricardo was being held back by three-four of his men. He was struggling against them, pushing and fighting. 'Where is she!' he was yelling. His eyes were frantic and glossy. He screamed at the top of his legs and shudder went though my body. Two more of his men grabbed a hold him. He screamed out her name ripping himself from their grasps. They were all talking trying to speak to hi but he wasn't listening. His hands grabbed at air and his eyes constantly searched the room. For her. Finally one of his men grabbed the sedative out of my paralyzed hands and gave it to him. They held him while he fought the drug, reaching in front of him and repeating her name. His voice grew hoarse and his eyelids heavy and they he sank in their arms as they laid him across the chairs. He had completely broken down.

I didn't know which was worst to witness the shutdown or the breakdown.


End file.
